Method for treating petroleum



March 1931- w. F. BLEECKER METHOD FOR TREATING PETROLEUM Filed May 1 1928 INVENTOR.

I PETROLEUM Patented Mar. 3, 1931 UNITED STATES WARREN I. BLEEGKEB, OI BOULDER, COLORADO .METHOD FOR TBEATIN PEIIBDLEUM Application fled Kay 1, 1928. Serial 110.474314.

My invention relates to the treatment of petroleum containing corrosive agents.

It is an object of the invention to render inactive or neutralize the corrosiveness of cer- Lb, tain sulfur compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide, often found in petroleum, by an oxidizing gas. 1

It is a further object of the invention to thoroughly mix the gas with the petroleum 10 to be treated, and to keep the gas in same until the desired result has been obtained.

It is also anobject to generate an oxidizing gas in the presence of said petroleum so that the. gas while in a nascent state may mix with :1 the petroleum. a

Reference is made to my application for patent Serial No. 274,213, filed May 1, 1928, for claims on subject matter shown and/or described vbut not claimed herein. The loss due to the corrosive agents in petroleum amounts to millions of dollars a year, and although many attempts have been made to-find a satisfactory method of rendering such agents inactive, apparently no satisfactory method has been heretofore invented.

The corrosive sulfur compounds are volatile and foul-smelling. By reason of being volatile, they escape from the oil and, upon being condensed in the presence of air and moisture in the air, attack metals, which constitute a large part of oil handling equipment. In a metal tank of petroleum con-.

'taining such compounds, particles of iron sulfide, which are formed on exposed portions of the tank by the condensed sulfur vapors, become dislodged and fall to the bottom of the. tank, here electrolytic action. is set up spontaneously, resulting in pigtiiiiig and thus destroying the value of the ta .I; Moreover, the volatile, corrosive sulfur compounds are poisonous topersons han dling the oil, until treated by the present process.

My invention" consists generally in mixing under pressure an oxidizing gas with petro leum containing the corrosive sulfur compounds. It is preferred to use nascent gas as its efiect is pore positive and quicker.

Many embodiments are possible for carrying out the foregoing invention. The gas may be generated by, any suitable means or by the intimate contact of the gas and all of the oil.

The pressure may vary from slightly above atmospheric ressure to several pounds. I prefer a pressure of five to ten pounds to a square inch.-f

The temperature of the oil during the reaction is not important, although an increase in temperature results in slightly speedin up the reaction. The optimum range 0 temperature is ordinary atmospheric tem- Y peratures. The process is particularly designed for use in the oil fields without the application of heat. I

The time of treatment varies from a few minutes in the case of a very reactive gas, such as chlorine or an oxide of chlorine, to several hours in the case of a less active gas such as air. The process may be oper-- ated continuously or in batches. The use of a. more active gas is better suited to a continuous o eration.

' Hereto ore -chlorine has been assed through petroleum in an effort to ren er'the sulfur compounds inactive, but no pressure other than atmospheric was used and the chlorine merely swept through the oil without being intimately intermixed. By that '9 method a great quantity of chlorine must be used and even then the corrosiveness is only partly neutralized.

It as also been suggested heretofore that an oxidizing solution e mixed with petro- 'leum, forming an emulsion. Objections to this method are that the solution must subsequently be separated from the petroleum by some process.

Mixing the gas with the oil by the present 100 tends across the tan novel method, the mixture of the active agent with the oil is much more thorough and more intimate than when it is added in a liquid by the process of emulsification. Moreover, the oxidizing gases pass off upon exposure to the atmosphere, so that their removal is extremely simple.

The drawing is a sectional elevation of a system adapted to carry out the present process.

' The reference numeral 5 designates a treatment tank having a cap or closure 6 rendering the tank air ti ht. A partition 7 exto a point below the level of the electrolyte hereafter described,

, thus providing two compartments A and B separated from each other except for a passage below the partition.

The tank has an oil inlet 8a to which is connected an oil inlet conduit 8. An inlet conduit 9 is provided for an electrolyte hereinafter described, and an outlet conduit 10 is provided for oil in which the corrosive sulfur compounds have been rendered'inactive. Each of the compartments has a gas escape conduit 12 that has a blow-oil iralve 13 to automatically regulate the escape of accumulated gases in the compartments. The other conduits are likewise valves.

The electrolyte inlet conduit -9 is preferably near the bottom of the tank; the oil inlet conduit 8 just above the level of the electrolyte: the oil outlet conduit 10 near the level of the oil and the gas escape conduits 12 near the top of the compartments.

The cap 6 carries insulating plugs 14 and.

15 above compartments A and B respectively. Passing through the plugs and thereby insulated from the cap and tank are an inert anode 16 and a cathode 17 depending from the cap and extending into the electrolyte in compartments A and B respectively. The anode 16 preferably has a large area provided by a plate 18 parallel to the bottom of the tank.

A sourceof direct current is shown at 19, which is suitably connected with the anode by a wire 20 having a switch 21 and with-the cathodeby a wire 22.

The oil may be fed from any suitable source providing there is suflicient pressure to overcome the pressure in the tank, and by any suitable means. In the drawing a gravity tank 23 is shown as an example. The gravity tank contains the oil to be treated and is of such altitude above the oil inlet 80.

of the treatment tank 5 that the pressure in the treatment tank is overcome. The gravity tank isconnected with the oil inlet conduit 8.

In the operation of the present inventioil, an electrolyte is introduced into the tank 5 by means of the'conduit 9 and finds its level in the compartments A and B. Any electrolyte is used which is capable of being decomprovided with suitable posed witho oragaseous oxideasa product, for 6:73:16 brine that is preferably alkaline and in some cases dilute sulphuric acid may be used to advantage. B brine is meant water strongly im regna with sodium chloride. Enough e ectrolyte is used to keep the passage under the partition 7 filled at all times with electrolyte, irrespective of the head of oil in the tank 5'.

The optimum concentration of the electrolyte is that which produces the greatest quan tity-of gas per unit of electricenergy, although any concentration of electrolyte will produce gas to some degree. More specifically, by experiment it ap ears that '150 to 250 grams of common salt sodium chloride) per liter of water is the range of optimum concentration.

The oil to be treated is then fed into the compartment A through the conduit 8. The

oil rests on top of the electrolyte and is thus kept from the compartment B.-

The switch 21 is then closed, causing elec-.

soda or dilute sulphuric be used, oxygen alone is evolved at the anode. Both the oxygen and the chlorine react in destroying the undesirablecorrosive compounds in the oil.

Hydrogen gas in-all cases is generated at the cathode, which rises directly up in the compartment B1 The hydrogen gas does not pass through the oil, thus avoiding any effeet oithe hydrogen gas on the oil.

The gases that accumulate in the spaces at the top of the compartments increase the pressure in the tank, which, as stated, causes the oxidizing gas in compartment A to mix thoroughly with the oil with the desired result. 1

Excess gases will pass out through the escape conduits 12 past the blow-01f valves 13,

I which regulate the pressure automatically at all times.

The sweetened oil is removed by means of the conduit 10,.there being only slight traces of the chlorine left in the sweetened oil.

Oil treated as explained, no longer contains volatile, foul-smelling, corrosive-sulfur compounds, and may be handled by human beings without danger of poison and will not corrode metals.

In this specification oxidizing merelymeans converting corrosive sulfur compounds to non-corrosive sulfur compounds, or neutralizing the corrosiveness of corrosive sulfur compounds, or both. The literature on the subject appears to use this term in this connecti'on.

fOil and petroleum are used interchangeably in the present specification. Where either occurs, I desire it to be understood that the broadest meaning of either word is meant. Moreover, either term also.

includes the products of petroleum such as gasoline, etc.

It is to be understood that chlorine gas as used in the presents ecification is a neric term, one species of w ich is oxide of c lorine i m is:

and hydrogen, a

and that oxide of chlorine is an equivalent of chlorine gas.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The process of removin corrosive sul phur compounds from etro eum, comprising the electrolyzing of rine in the presence of the petroleum thereby producing chlorine ilowing the nascent chlorine to pass directly into the petroleum, and separately removing hydrogen gas generated by the electrolysis, without introducing it into the petroleum.

2. The process of removing corrosive suh phur com ounds from petroleum, comprising electrolyzmg, in the presence of the petroleum, an electrolyte capable of producing an oxidizing gas and hydrogen, allowin the nascent oxidizing gas produced there y to pass directly into the etroleum, and sepa-- rately removin the hyrogen, without introducin it into tfie petro cum.

3. he process of removing corrosive suh phur compounds from petroleum, comprising eleetrolyzmg, in the presence of the petroleum, an electrolyte capable of producing an oxidizing gas and hydrogen, allowin the nascent oxldizing gas produced there y to pass directly into the petroleum, maintainin g the oxidlzing gas in the etroleum thereby v increasing the pressure as the amount of oxidizing gas increases, and separately removing the ydrogen, without introducing it into the petroleum.

In testimony whereofl have aflixed my signature. a WARREN F. BLEECIER. 

